Time
by VerityFrancesB
Summary: Jibbs, angst warning in first couple of chapters.
1. Seconds

_Ok, so having tried a multi chapter fic, I have decided that I don't like doing them, but we occasionally have to do things that we don't like, don't we?! So, Verity is back where she belongs, in her comfort zone and doing one shot series! I may do another attempt soon, but who knows!_

* * *

It had only taken 10 seconds for his world to collapse, 10 small seconds which had dragged like minutes, 2 for his mind to register that the man standing at the tree line wasn't meant to be there, 2 to grab her hand and pull her behind him, 5 to wrestle with her independence and enlighten her to the gunman. The last 1 had been the worst; he threw himself on top of her, their breath escaping as they landed heavily on the ground, the last remnants of the loud crack echoing across the park.

Her hands had come up to caress his face, smiling gently at him.

"Thank you." She whispered, as if he had a choice whether he would save her life or not. The choice had been taken from him the same time that she had taken his heart.

"You're welcome." He said, frowning slightly at a pain in his stomach. He tried to roll off her, conscious of the fact that his entire body weight was pressing down on her but he can't move. His eyes find hers and he wass scared to see the fear in them, her big green eyes were wide and she was looking at her hands.

That was when his world collapsed and everything he knew came down in a rush.

His mind went blank when he saw red. No, his mind screamed, he had gotten them down in time, there was no way, this wasn't going to happen, not again, he wasn't going to lose someone.

_Close your eyes and count to three. _Her voice resounded in his head as he took in the sight before him before closing his eyes, praying that when he opened them, they wouldn't be here, lying on the ground, it wouldn't be true.

His hands moved frantically over her, desperately seeking the wound that was spilling her blood all over the park. He looked down at her.

"Where are you hurt Jenny, tell me." He saw her mouth move, she was trying to speak but no words were coming out.

"Jenny, come on, tell me where you're hurt." His voice was getting more frantic, "you're not going to die on me ok?…Jenny." His vision blurred for a second and he swiped at the sweat that poured down his forehead. He still couldn't stop the bleeding.

She was moving now, trying to help him, but he still couldn't see where it was coming from. He had had a lot of blood on his hands, but Jenny's was the worst, he didn't think that he would ever be able to wash his hands enough.

Her hands framed his face, brushing a thumb over his lips as he continued talking to her, trying to find the source of blood.

"No, Jen, it's not meant to end like this."

She shakes her head at him, her large green eyes worried and she struggles against him again.

"You were wrong Jen…you said we were going to have a happy ending this time," he held his hands up, showing her the blood that stained them, noticing that they were shaking a little bit too much, "…this isn't happy Jenny." He shouted, his anger masking his fear. She grasped his hands in her, tears filling up her eyes, threatening to spill over. He leaned his head to her shoulder, exhausted from the search of blood, his body fell to the side and she moved, to his side, her hands now covering his stomach, her little hands pressing down and he wondered why she was up, that's when he heard her voice, that's when he found the bleeding.

"Jethro," She whispered, "It's not my blood."

* * *

_Ok, so the next chapter, Minutes, will be up soon, please don't hate me. _

_V!_

_xox_

* * *


	2. Minutes

_Follows on from Seconds. _

* * *

The minutes were going by so slowly that time almost seemed to be going backwards. He had covered her hands with his, helping her. She had carried on talking to him, words coming out faster than she could think.

"Jethro...talk to me." She called, her face inches from his, he grimaced. She desperately wanted to touch him, to feel his heartbeat and his skin beneath her fingers, to feel that he was alive but she had to hold on, had to keep pressure on the wound that seemed to be threatening his very existence.

He was so tired, exhaustion seeped over him and he closed his eyes.

"No, no, no, Jethro, open your eyes, look at me…_please_." He snapped his eyes open at the desperation in her voice and found her gaze, for a second wondering why she looked so worried until he remembered the gun shot to his stomach.

"You were wrong Jen." He whispered again. She shook her head, glancing down at her watch, noting that 3 minutes had gone by.

"The hell I was, Jethro…this is not going to end like this, you hear me?" She said, frantically searching the horizon for the ambulance which had been called by a bystander when she had hurled her cell phone at them. "Where the hell are they?" She asked, under her breath.

"I thought it was you." He said. She looked confused for a second, "I thought you were bleeding."

"No." She said simply, "You stupid bastard, you got in the way." She tried to smile at the same time as he tried to laugh.

Her fingers were wet with his blood and she tried to ignore the heat that was seeping into her hands, she had always hated the fact that blood was so warm, it seemed wrong. Why was the time going so slowly? She wanted to scream, he was lying here, slowly dying and the minutes were dragging like hours.

She glanced at her watch again; 4 minutes had gone past since everything had stopped. 4 minutes ago, everything was normal, they were walking, laughing, her hand was in his and she was happy…now, the world had been flipped upside down, and she was struggling, struggling to keep the blood from pouring out, struggling to keep his eyes focused on her, struggling to keep the panic, that was rising at the back of her throat like bile, down.

"Remember Positano?" She asked, desperate to keep him awake, "Well, remember how I took care of you?" He graced her with a sly smile through his pain, "It's going to be the same this time, ok? You will be up in no time and I'll be complaining that you have no stamina…Jethro?" He had shut his eyes again.

"Jethro…open your eyes." He opened them slowly and lifted a weak hand to her face.

"Hey," He rasped, "I give…the orders…around here." He tried to smile and she let out a sad laugh.

She leant down and pressed her lips to his, "You just stay with me, ok?"

"Yes Ma'am."

She closed her eyes and concentrated on his breathing that was getting shallower by the second.

She heard the ambulance before she saw it, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God…Jethro…Jethro…wake up," His eyes snapped open as she pushed a little too hard down on his stomach, hoping the pain would wake him up.

His hands tightened slightly over hers, almost as if he was lending her what little strength he had, although why he felt she needed strength, she would never know. She leant down again, kissing him, praying to whoever was listening that it wasn't going to be the last time.

"It's gonna be…ok Jen." He said, so quietly that she had to strain to hear him. She looked at his blue eyes which were dimming.

"God I hope you're right Jethro." She said, squeezing her eyes shut, furious with herself as one tear escaped and landed on the back of his hand.

"I'm always…right." He said as the paramedics pulled her away.

She watched, wide eyed, as he was loaded into the back of the ambulance, watched as he was hooked up to drips, never taking her eyes of him as she climbed in after him, taking his hand and whispering to him as the paramedic struggled to save his life.

It was only when he flat lined that she allowed the tears to fall.

"Stay with me."

* * *

_V!_

_xox_


	3. Hours

_Oh look! Verity said she was going back to one shots, she lied! This follows on from Minutes!_

* * *

She had been staring at her shaking blood stained hands for an hour, wondering if they were ever going to be clean again, until she had snapped, stormed into the bathroom and scrubbed them. She pushed down a bubble of hysterical laughter that threatened to escape as she noticed she probably looked like Lady Macbeth, frantically scrubbing at the stains that weren't there.

She marched back to the waiting room and pulled out her cell phone, making all the necessary calls was something that she used to hate, but now it was second nature, however, making them for Jethro was making her hands shake again, she sighed loudly as she shook her hands, trying to stop the tremors that ran through them.

She called Ducky first, needing her old friend with her as soon as possible. She called his team, dreading hearing the tone of Tony's voice when he realized what she was saying; she couldn't bear to break the news to Abby, instead passing the buck to Tony. She called Cynthia, nearly snapping at the sympathy she heard from her assistant, unable to appreciate it, not wanting to hear it, because hearing it would make the situation real.

That was when she began pacing, desperate to be doing something, anything, other than sitting feeling sorry for herself when Jethro was still battling for his life. _Hang on, _she silently pleaded, hoping that he would hear. She slumped back into a chair, suddenly exhausted.

"Jennifer?" A familiar voice called to her and she lifted her eyes to the gentle face that stood before her.

"Ducky." She said, her voice flat, emotionless and he resisted the urge to pull her to him, knowing that she would hate being smothered.

"How long have you been here?" He asked, sitting gently down next to her. She shook her head as if to clear her mind.

"Since they bought him in…minutes, hours…does it matter?" She asked. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I don't suppose it does." She returned the squeeze with a forced smile.

"Ducky?" Her question was quiet and he would have missed it had he not been expecting her to say something, "Is he…" She broke off, unable, unwilling to voice her concerns. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled, she came to him stiffly, resisting comfort, not wanting to let go of the numbness that had settled on her.

"He's stubborn Jennifer, you know that." He felt her nod her head against him.

5 hours, 5 long, silent, terrifying hours they sat, with their hands clasped around each others, knuckles going white, only moving when the rest of the team arrived and joined them on their vigil. Abby threw herself into Ducky's arms, needing the comfort of touch much more than Jen. She just wanted his touch, wanted him to be awake, him to be sitting next to her. She began to pace again.

It was a further hour until the Doctor emerged, causing everyone, except Jen, to bombard him with questions. Ducky took the lead and asked the questions, translating for everyone, waiting patiently until the doctor had finished until he reassured everyone.

"He is in recovery. He lost a lot of blood." Jen paled at the thought that she could have prevented more blood spilling out and looked at her hands, once again imagining his blood all over them. Ducky noticed and took her hands.

"But he could have lost more and died out there Jennifer." He spoke softly to her, imploring her to understand that she did all she could. She nodded once, signalling him to carry on.

Abby clutched at Ducky's sleeve as he explained that Gibbs was going to be ok, eventually. They hovered outside his room, not wanting to see their leader incapacitated. Jen fell further back, her hands shaking again.

"He is going to be ok, Jennifer." Ducky said hating seeing her so pale. She looked at him with wide eyes and backed away, dread creeping in. He held his hand out to her. She shook her head again.

She wanted more than anything to see him but seeing him lying in a hospital bed would only bring back memories of his blood on her hands, memories of his eyes dimming at he clung to life, memories that were too fresh.

"I…" She began, unsure of how to explain. She settled for the first pathetic thing that came into her mind, "I'll be back, I promise, tell him I'll be back."

* * *

_Ok, Days will be up tomorrow, thank you all for your reviews. Jonah and Ellie, you can cancel the lynch mob! _

_V!_

_xox_


	4. Days

She had submerged herself into work as only someone in despair can, despair or guilt. Tony had headed up the investigation and had caught the bastard that had caused this nightmare she was currently living. He was being charged with attempted murder of a federal agent. Somehow she didn't think it was enough.

She was, in the dark part of her mind, enjoying the guilt, at least she was feeling something other than fear; fear for his life. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone, not that she needed to admit it, everyone at the hospital had seen the fear in her eyes, seen her white knuckles as she gripped Ducky's hand.

"Director?" A soft voice came from the door way and she started slightly.

"Ziva." She beckoned her friend into her office and stood before her, noticing how Ziva was shifting uneasily, "What is it?" She asked.

Ziva looked at her; her large brown eyes which usually hid so many secrets were wide open for anyone to read.

"I haven't seen him yet." Jen answered the unasked question that was hanging in the air. Ziva nodded once and made to leave.

"Go see him Jen, you need to." She closed the door quietly.

So here she was, standing in front of his door, desperate to see him, but wondering what the hell she was going to say. She had stayed away because she didn't want to see him hurt, didn't want to remember his blood on her hands but the longer she had stayed away the harder it got to come here.

She opened the door quietly, hoping that he was asleep and she could kiss his temple whilst he slept and leave, but he opened his eyes when he heard the door. She caught her bottom lip in her teeth as she took in the machines that surrounded him.

"Jen." He sounded relieved, if a little angry and his voice was still gravelly from the tubes. She swallowed.

"Jethro." She replied, taking a step forward, hating the fact she wasn't being her normal under control self.

"What took you so long?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Guilt." She answered simply.

"Why?" He asked, his blue eyes were getting back the clarity that they lost in the park she noted, they still weren't quite a piercing as they could be, but they were currently holding her to the spot, making her unable to move.

"I don't know." She replied. And she really didn't know. It wasn't her fault they were shot at, it wasn't her fault that he pulled her behind him, it wasn't her fault that he had nearly died. Her fingers were itching to touch him but she still held back. He turned his hand on the bed and opened it, signaling to her.

"Come here..." He held her face in his hands, his thumb brushing over her lips, making her close her eyes. He pulled her closer and sighed against her lips.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't apologize…" He began, she pulled away.

"Would you, just for once, accept it?" She snapped.

"Jen…you have nothing to apologize for…and you know what? I would probably do it again. Now would you come back here…I need to…" He trailed off, unable to voice what he needed. He needed to feel her skin against his, to ensure himself that it wasn't her that was shot, that she was actually standing in front of him, needed to feel her pulse beneath his fingers.

She sat on the bed next to him and he placed his hand over hers. She turned to look at him and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers trailing down her neck, resting at her pulse, feeling the steady beat. She unconsciously leant into his touch and placed a kiss on his palm. He tugged her closer.

"Don't stay away again."

* * *

_I know its short, sorry, but I have been doing some major bribing this afternoon and needed to get something up in return! _

_Weeks should be soon..._

_V!_

_xox_


	5. Weeks

_Ok, we are going to get a little happier now, writing angst makes me depressed! _

_Sorgina demanded longer chapters, so here you are poppet! _

_Ellie, thank you for all you help, you are a star and I love you._

* * *

"It's killing me." He said, trailing his fingers up her arm.

"Don't be dramatic." She answered, swatting his hand away.

"Seriously Jen, it's killing me…you have to get me out of here…" He said.

It had been three weeks since she had nearly lost him, three weeks of sleepless nights, wondering if he was going to make it through the night, but he was out of the woods now, desperate to get out of hospital. She leant forward and smoothed out the wrinkles his forehead.

"Jethro, you nearly died." She said, trailing a finger down his cheek and along his jaw.

"I know, but I didn't, Jenny." She loved it when he called her Jenny, it sounded different on his lips than when anyone else said it. She looked at him, still not quite used to the fact that he was sitting in front of her, loving the fact that he was still breathing, the color had come back to him and his eyes burned with an intensity that she had missed over the past weeks.

She abruptly pulled her hand away and stood up, he looked at her questioningly and she smiled reassuringly.

"I'll be back." She said opening the door. He chuckled lightly.

"Last time you said that it took your 4 days."

"If you weren't lying in bed with a healing wound in your stomach I would throw something at you." She said as she closed the door.

He leant his head against his pillow. He would never admit to her how much it had pained him that she hadn't been here when he woke up, that for a split second he thought that she had been shot too, that the first face he saw was Abby's, full of worry. He appreciated the fact that his whole team were waiting for him to wake up, but all he wanted was to see her face, to see her hair falling around her as she leant over him, to feel her hand on his face. But he wasn't going to tell her that, she probably already knew anyway. It had taken 2 weeks to get her to stop looking guilty whenever she saw him, and he wasn't going to make her feel more guilty about not being there.

The door opened and she came back in, a large smile on her face.

"Ready to go?" She asked, he looked at her with surprise.

"You better not be teasing me, Jen." He said, the warning clear.

"I'm not...you're coming home with me though, I have to look after you, and my place is better suited than yours." He raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes. "Don't make me hurt you Jethro."

* * *

"Jen, I can walk you know." He said as she opened her front door with immense difficulty as she had one arm around his waist.

"Would you stop being so stubborn and let me help you?" She asked as she closed the door. He grinned at her.

"You can help me out of these clothes." He said, tugging on her pants, pulling her closer. She sighed as he lowered his head to her neck, kissing up to behind her ear.

"Jethro." She whispered, loving the way his stubble grazed her skin. He ignored her and pulled her closer still, running his hand up her back and winding it into her hair. He angled her head to continue his onslaught of her neck.

How she worked up the strength to push him gently away, she won't remember.

"Let's get you to bed." She said, not wanting to take him in the hallway, knowing that she had to be gentle with him. She took his hand and pulled him towards the study; grateful the Noemi saw more than she let on and had made up a bed, giving him as much help as he would accept.

After copious amounts of cursing, she managed to move him into the study and when he had got his breath back, he stood in front of her, hands wrapped around her arms. She raised her hands to his chest and gently undid his buttons, her nails grazing his skin; she slowed down as she reached the bandages on his stomach, pausing to look at them. He lifted her chin with his finger.

"Not you're fault." He said, bringing his hands to her face and pulling her in for a kiss which left her breathless. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, helping him out of it, wincing with him when he stretched a little too far.

"You ok?" She asked. He nodded as he walked backwards, pulling her with him. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"That's enough standing for today." He said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her stomach as she wound her fingers into his hair. She pushed gently on his shoulders.

"Lie back, let me look after you." One look in her eyes, and the pain in his stomach told him there was no point arguing.

He lay back, shifting uncomfortably, and tried turning to rearrange the pillows, stopping with another sharp intake of breath and a grimace.

"You ok?" She asked again, worried that he was in danger of hurting himself further.

"Fine." He said, covering his stomach with his hand. All he wanted was to feel her, feel her surround him, it had been far too long, but his body wasn't cooperating. He looked at her, touched by the worry in her eyes, angry at his bruised and battered body; the irritation was clearly etched on his face.

"Actually no…I'm in pain Jen." He said, frowning slightly.

"I know." She said tenderly, running a hand down his cheek. He caught her hand and placed a kiss on her palm.

"Not that kind of pain." He said, pulling her closer again, the desire in his eyes clearing showing his intent.

"You sure?" She asked, not wanting to push him but needing to feel him.

He nodded dumbly as she slipped out of her shirt and pants, loving the way the material slid down her legs. She crawled up to him, placing kisses on his chest and neck whilst dragging her nails up this thigh. She smiled against his skin as she felt his muscles ripple under her hand and his hands wind around her arms.

The pressure on her arms changed and she pulled away when he gasped in pain again.

"Jethro…" She said, crossing her arms. He grimaced again, waiting for the pain to stop, desperate to feel her skin against his. She raised an eyebrow at him as he tried to pull her back. "It's ok."

He looked up at her.

"No Jen, it's really not…it's been three weeks, I want to touch you, I _need_ to." She ran a hand gently down his side, her fingers skimming his ribs.

"How about I touch you?" She said, smiling as his breath hitched in his throat as her hand closed around him.

"I'm ok with that…," He paused as she began to move her hand, "Just so you know…Christ Jen…" She chuckled softly as his hand bunched in the blanket and his eyes slid shut, "I'll return the favor as soon as…I can."

"I've no doubt Jethro."

* * *

_I am not going to do years because I feel this is soon coming to a close, so the next chapter, Months, will be the last one._

_V!_

_xox_


	6. Authors Note

Ok, just have to say that I am a terrible person, I promised Mrs Scott that I would dedicate Weeks to her and I didn't!

So, Weeks was meant to be for Ellie, Sorgina AND Mrs Scott, SORRY POPPET!

V!

xox


	7. Months

_This one REALLY is for Jonah! Love you poppet. _

* * *

It would be a further month till he felt he was up to returning the favor.

He still hadn't returned to work, recuperating at her house, both of them reluctant to talk about the fact that he hadn't gone home yet, or the fact he wasn't itching to get back to work.

She had enjoyed nursing him back to health, taking things slowly with him, although he still tried to persuade her he was feeling better, she could see every time he moved the pain that flittered across his face and feared that it would be a while before he was back to active duty.

The thing which scared her most was she had gotten used to him being in her house, gotten used to him being there when she came back from work and she wasn't yet ready to tell him she didn't want him to ever leave.

Her heart skipped a beat when she walked into her study to find an empty bed.

"Jethro…?" She called, a crash from the kitchen had her hurrying in to see him wincing and trying to bend down to pick up a fork. She stifled a laugh as she went to help him.

"I'm fine Jen." He said as she bent down and picked up the fork. "In fact…I'm so fine I made it up the stairs all by myself today." He grinned proudly and suggestively. She frowned in confusion.

"Oh, that's right, I didn't tell you." He turned away from her and emptied the takeout bag onto the counter top, Jethro's idea of fixing dinner. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Didn't tell me what?"

"That I set myself a goal…make it up the stairs, return the favor to Jen." He reached out to her and pulled her to him, breathing in her scent, nuzzling at her neck.

"Think you're up to it?" She asked, he pulled away and looked at her.

"Oh Christ yes." He pulled her towards the study.

"What about dinner?" She asked, holding back.

"It's been a month and a half and you're worried about dinner?" He asked incredulously.

"I suppose not." She answered, letting herself be pulled along.

They barely made it through the door before he was tugging her blouse out of her skirt, relishing in the way her breathed hitched and the feel of her skin beneath his hands, it had been far too long and he intended to make every second count.

She managed to worm her hands in between their bodies and grappled with his buttons, taking too long on each one for his liking. He broke away and tried to pull the shirt over his head, his breath rushing in when a stab of pain burned across his stomach. She put her hand to his face and turned him towards her.

"You ok?" She asked.

"I think you've gotta help me with this." He gestured down to the shirt.

"My pleasure." She answered, managing to undo the buttons more easily now she wasn't plastered to him. It was slightly wrong that the very act of her undoing his buttons had his blood rushing down to the area that had been unused recently but it happened, and he pulled her hips towards him. She grinned up at him.

"Guess it's still working then." He laughed with her and winched slightly as she pushed his shirt of his shoulders. Her hands trailed back down his chest, avoiding his bandage, unsure whether she was avoiding it for his purpose or hers, and undid the button on his pants. There was something in the site of her hands on his pants that made him even more turned on and he automatically reached for her blouse. His fingers traced the neckline and dipped into the front, deftly undoing the top button. He lowered his head to her neck, trailing kisses from her earlobe to her shoulder, loving the way she tried to pull him closer, even though it wasn't possible.

He pulled away to release her from her blouse and skirt, his hands skimming her hips as he pushed the skirt down. He trailed his hands upwards, grazing her breasts, gently pushing on her shoulders, till she sat on the bed. She scooted backwards and gestured to him. He came to her with pleasure, his lips meeting hers, moaning as she slid her tongue into his mouth. He kissed along her jaw line, grimacing at the pain that once again flashing through his stomach, glad that his face was currently hidden in the crook of her neck. She arched towards him as he nipped at her neck.

"I think you're going to have to take the lead on this one." He whispered in her ear, his arms shaking from holding himself up. She nodded dumbly and he moved away from her, gingerly rolling onto his back, his breathing ragged, not just from the pain.

She fingered the waistband on his boxers, tugging at them and he lifted his hips slightly as she pulled them down his hips. She gently straddled him, grinning down at him as she felt just how much he wanted this, and leant behind her, dragging her nails up his thighs. His hands reached out for her and she grabbed his wrists pinning them above his head.

"No touching." She said, trailing kisses down his chest. He arched slightly into her, gasping only a little as the movement caused him pain. She placed a gentle kiss on the bandage and he found her hand and gave it a small squeeze, letting her know that it was ok, that it wasn't her fault. She reached down and he let out a moan as she closed her hand around him, her gentle movements bringing him just close enough to the edge that he saw over it.

She pulled her hand away and positioned herself on top of him, pausing so he opened his eyes and nodded once, closing his eyes again as she lowered herself down and he revelled in the familiar warmth of her surrounding him. She paused, letting him catch his breath before slowly beginning to move above him. She arched her neck, leaning back, exposing her throat, which he longed to feel beneath his lips. He ran his hands over her thighs, slipping in between her legs, helping her as she drove them both to the edge. Her breathing became frantic as she came closer.

"Jethro…" She gasped his name, grasping at his hand, which worked magic between her thighs.

"I'm with you Jen." He answered and moaned as they both came together.

She slowly got her breathing back to normal and lifted herself off him, gasping as her sensitized nerve endings protested the friction. She settled next to him, and he drew her gently to him, running a hand down her arm, loving the feel of her warm, slick skin beneath his fingers. She nuzzled into his chest, listening to his elevated heartbeat beneath his chest. She traced a pattern absentmindedly on his chest, and he grabbed her hand, kissing the finger tips. She looked up at him, her eyes black with sated pleasure.

"Stay with me." She whispered as sleep threatened to overtake her. He tightened his grip on her slightly, placing a kiss on her hair.

"Always."

* * *

_I think this is the end cos I don't really see how I can go on from this! _

_Hope you enjoyed it. _

_I have only one thing to say...sometimes you have to think like a pirate, right Ellie? _

_V!_

xox

* * *


	8. Years

_Thank you so much Morgan for your help with this, also for pursuading me to do it, you're a star! _

* * *

A year, 12 Months, 52 weeks, 365 days since the gun shot to his stomach that left him weaker than he had been for a long time. The way pain flickered across his face, however briefly, the way he looked tiredly at Tony and Ziva instead of with irritation, made her want to reach out to him. But she didn't, she stayed and when he caught her gaze and rolled his eyes because of his bickering 'children', she turned away, unable to look at him today without seeing his blood on her hands.

He frowned as she turned away, wondering, for the 20th time that day, why she was being distant. It had been a year of bliss, well as much bliss as they could have anyway. They still argued like hell, but only now they had someway of releasing their tension and it generally ended up in bed. He smiled to himself at the thought. They still lived separately, the years apart meant that they preferred to wallow in their own self pity rather than sharing it, but most evenings were spent together, his still livid scar on his stomach proof that life is too short not to grab what you want.

She spent the rest of the day avoiding him; she even hid under her desk when he barged into her office, her embarrassment at being down their almost outweighed the dread of seeing his face. She silently thanked Cynthia for being so discreet as she caught her emerging from under her desk. She paced her office, irritated at herself for not being able to face him but today, she wanted, _needed_, to be alone with the guilt that seemed as fresh as it was a year ago.

She was sneaking out of the office when he caught her. His hand closed around her wrist as she stepped into the elevator.

"What's going on Jen?" He asked. She gently pulled her hand away and stepped, once again, into the elevator, knowing that he wouldn't follow when she was sending off such strong 'stay away' vibes.

"Nothing, I'm busy tonight, see you tomorrow." She said as the doors closed and she heaved a sigh of relief. Gibbs frowned and stalked purposely towards her office.

"Cynthia, I need to see the Directors schedule." He barked, he had respect for Jen assistant, even if he never showed it, she was so loyal. Cynthia crossed her arms in front of her.

"What makes you think I will show you, Special Agent Gibbs?" She asked, once upon a time she would have been afraid of him, but over this past year she had seen how protective he was of Director Shepard, how much her cared for her and she respected that.

"Cynthia, something is going on with her and I need to know she's doing." He said. Cynthia seemed to study him for a second before giving in and pulling up Jen's schedule on her PC.

"Her schedule is free this evening." She stated, wary of Gibbs's narrowing eyes. She couldn't say anything else before he swept out. Cynthia sighed at the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, showing Gibbs the Directors schedule was possibly not the right thing to do, but if anyone can get her out of the slump she was in today, he can; or push her deeper in.

* * *

She wasn't surprised when she sensed him behind her, she was irritated that she hadn't heard him opening the front door, but not surprised. She tore her gaze away from the fire and stared at him.

"What part of busy don't you understand?" She asked, the tiniest hint of amusement in her voice. He grinned.

"If this is what you do when you're busy, I would hate to see you when you aren't." He teased and sat on the couch next to her, pulling her feet into his lap. She pulled them away and stood up, amused by the way he followed suit. They had always had this strange habit of unconsciously mirroring each others postures.

"Not in the mood Jethro." She warned. He frowned as she poured a glass of bourbon and paced her study. "Do you know what day it is Jethro?" She asked suddenly. Caught off guard by her question he fumbled for his watch.

"Uh…Wednesday." He answered, obviously not the answer she was looking forward because she glared at him. His mind whirred, trying to think of anything that could have been going on today. It wasn't her birthday, it definitely wasn't Valentines day…

"Think back Jethro, this time last year what were you doing?" She asked. His brow furrowed in concentration till the penny dropped and he stared at her. He thought they had got over this, how many times did he have to tell her?

"It wasn't your fault Jen." He said.

She came into his arms without warning and buried her head in the fabric of his shirt, her hands fisting in the material at the back.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm alive, you know." He said. She wormed a hand under his shirt and fingered his scar. He lifted her face with a finger.

"I bought food, you hungry?" He asked. She smiled at him.

"Are you staying?" She asked, he looked down at her and smiled.

"Of course. Plus later I have to show just how alive I am." She let out a gentle laugh, her fingers tracing patterns on his scar. He caught her hand and placed a kiss to her palm, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Insatiable." She said unpacking the bag. He held his hands out for the food. She internally chastised herself for being ridiculous, Jethro was alive, his blood wasn't on her hands, he was sitting in front of her demanding food.

"Always. Now give me the food, I'm hungry."

* * *

_Ok, Time really is finished now!_

_V!_

_xox_


End file.
